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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28714899">I Belong to the City</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/KilannaD/pseuds/KilannaD'>KilannaD</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>What is it to be a Hero? [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Daredevil (TV), Deadpool (Movieverse), Iron Fist (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Clint DOES NOT have a wife and kids, F/M, Mention child molestation, Minor Character Deaths, Spider-man: Homecoming re-write, Universe Alteration - Alternate Timeline, no beta we die like the case against Bucky, not graphic, under a pile of paperwork</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 10:29:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,092</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28714899</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/KilannaD/pseuds/KilannaD</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Barnes is set to appear before a federal jury in January, marking a truly intense intro to 2016.<br/>Matt and Foggy end up co-leading a team with eight others, dropping the rest of their cases on other HC&amp;B attorneys to focus their full attention on what is turning into the biggest trial of the century. All of this means that Matt is insanely busy and Daredevil gets shoved aside. Beelzebub, consequently, stays closer to Hell’s Kitchen to make sure no one gets any funny ideas.<br/>This also means that when Beelzebub stops some ATM robbers dressed like the Avengers, he’s alone.<br/>__<br/>Or; Peter is left to deal with a new weapons dealer on his own while the world is distracted.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Matt Murdock &amp; Peter Parker, Matt Murdock &amp; Peter Parker &amp; Wade Wilson, Peter Parker &amp; Avengers, Peter Parker &amp; Michelle Jones, background Franklin "Foggy" Nelson/Karen Page</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>What is it to be a Hero? [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2014840</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>159</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>I Belong to the City</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Welcome to 2021! It... hasn't started so great, so I hope this lifts some of your spirits. On the bright side, I'm only working three days a week so if I can figure out a way for my ADHD not to drag me into six other fandoms, I should be able to get the next story out soon.<br/>Sorry about the cliffhanger last one, the news piece was actually supposed to go in If You Want Peace but it was so long already and I wanted it out before the end of 2020. I might go back and edit later, idk.<br/>The molestation tag is referencing a few blink-and-miss it lines. It's not graphic but I want everyone to take care of themselves. Also, a comment brought this up; if any of you ever think there's something that should be tagged, but isn't, pls let me know. I want everyone to be as safe as they can be with their mental health.<br/>At the request of a reader, I've posted an additional fic to this that keeps track of the Murdock Mandates so you can go back to that if you need it. It's the first story, now.<br/>Story title is from Hard to Kill by Beth Crowley.<br/>Unnecessary but meta stuff; there's a reference to accents later in this. I want y'all to understand that I think language and accents are super important as both a cultural and personal identity. I'm Quebecoise, I speak the language, I know some basic Russian and I'm going to learn Italian (where I have some roots) soon. That being said; I have NO IDEA how to write accents. Like, none. So, for the sake of my sanity and not making y'all deal with nonsense, if an accent is used (not slang or vernacular like ain't, y'know, etc) it'll be mentioned in dialogue tags. Also, just so you know, I hc that Peter uses a super heavy Queen's accent when he's suited up because he can't change the depth of his voice like Matt does but he doesn't want to talk regularly and have someone identify him by that.<br/>It should be said that the HIGH average an adult male can lift is 175 pounds. 175 lbs is about equal to 0.0875 tons. i want you all to keep that in mind as you read.<br/>Also, I did NOT rewrite the fight scene from Homecoming. It wouldn't have turned out well and it would've been super similar anyway. I hope it works how I put it, though.<br/>Okay, enough about me. Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>SHIELD or HYDRA? Rising Tide reveals government is a cover for terrorism!</strong>
</p><p>
  <em>By Karen Page, Reporter for the Bulletin, November 12</em>
  <em>
    <sup>th</sup>
  </em>
  <em>, 2015.</em>
</p><p>The past fall, some may recall the brief mention that CIA files were leaked by a hacker activist group called Rising Tide. Considering everything that has happened since—Harlem’s Hero, the Punisher, a dozen dead children, Greenwich—it’s understandable that it may have been forgotten. Rising Tide, however, hasn’t disappeared any more than corruption. And it appears that their goal is to reveal corruption at the highest levels for two days ago innumerable files were dumbed online, links to several of the more depraved contents being sent directly to this and other media sources.</p><p>SHIELD—Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division—was founded by Howard Stark and Peggy Carter in the wake of what was believed to be the fall of HYDRA to be an extra-governmental military counter-terrorism and intelligence agency. Its task was to maintain both national and global security from threats deemed too much for traditional groups. And some of the files do show that in this, they succeeded. While sifting through all the files is a herculean task, Rising Tide provided a table of contents of sorts directing attention to various files of higher importance. This includes a SHIELD mission undertaken by Black Widow and Hawkeye to prevent the assassination of Bertalan Toth—leader of the Hungarian Socialist Party—in Budapest in 2007.</p><p>But SHIELD, as it turns out, was also a cover for HYDRA, an old Nazi splinter group believed destroyed by Captain America in 1945 when his plane went down. The horror of this group is perhaps demonstrated best in a video that Rising Tide sent to every major news outlet in the world. The video, apparently of Howard and Maria Stark on the night of their ‘car crash’, shows that the crash was caused by someone on a motorcycle taking out a tire, followed by that someone the files label as the ‘Winter Soldier’ brutally murdering them both. Face recognition identifies the Winter Soldier as Sergeant Bucky Barnes. Other files where the Winter Soldier take part include assassination, torture, kidnapping, and coercion.</p><p>The Avengers have refused to comment and in the wake of SHIELD’s revealing—which names over a dozen politicians as HYDRA including Alexander Pierce—the FBI and CIA have taken over, issuing arrest warrants for every HYDRA operative past and present. Sergeant Barnes has not been arrested yet and, without comment from the Avengers, it’s unknown if they were aware of Sergeant Barnes previous affiliations in the past six decades.</p><p>More deeply buried files indicate still active SHIELD agents are in the field. The CIA assures the public that steps are being taken and field agents will be brought home safe. I have to wonder if that’s true, considering the public execution of Daniel Sousa, found dead in San Francisco with the HYDRA emblem burned into his chest.</p><p>While the government continues the fight of trying to rebury what’s been brough to light, Rising Tide has made no public comment on their goals or why they targeted SHIELD. Perhaps because SHIELD, who not only put together the Avenger Initiative but is also the only government agency who controlled the Avengers, is a large argument to why government control of supers <em>works</em>. It was believed that since SHIELD could control and direct the Avengers then surely it could be done with all supers. Normals have long since criticized SHIELD for not having enough oversight for the Avengers and claim that its blatant disregard for international cooperation and law—exemplified in the Ultron incident—is what leads to such chaos. Now that Rising Tide—with no regard for the lives of real SHIELD agents left in danger—has exposed SHIELD as a cesspit of corruption and neo-Nazi terrorism, there’s no doubt that both sides will have a new slew of arguments.</p><p>I await the White House and Avenger's reactions to this newest development.</p>
<hr/><p>Peter stares at the papers Ned slide across to him, at the names printed starkly on the paper.</p><p>“They were still released to the public, but they aren’t as obvious as some of the others. I thought you might want to see them.”</p><p>Peter traces the names.</p><p>
  <em>Mary Parker.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Richard Parker.</em>
</p><p>His parents. Or, well, mom and stepdad.</p><p>SHIELD agents.</p><p>“Are—were they…”</p><p>“They weren’t HYDRA,” Ned offers gently. “But HYDRA is the one that made their plane crash.”</p><p>“Oh.”</p><p>It’s all he can bring himself to say. He’s wondered for years why that plane went down, and since he found the Letter, why they knew someone was after them. The files don’t tell him much, only that they’d been investigation OsCorp undercover for SHIELD and one day they decided they needed to run.</p><p>
  <strike>And leave him behind.</strike>
</p>
<hr/><p>In the wake of the SHILDRA reveal, the world seems to start crumbling, Lego pieces falling down and leaving gaps in the foundation of everything they knew. The Triskelion, a SHIELD Headquarter, was destroyed in D.C. and several superhumans—mostly mutates or enhanced—escaped from one of SHIELD’s prisons. HYDRA operations were made top priority and it seemed like the news constantly had a new story about the CIA or FBI trying—and often failing—to contain supervillains. Some billionaire—Dany Rand—coming back from the dead and then being institutionalized, barely shows up.</p><p>And above it all, shouting from the headlines, is Bucky Barnes arrest.</p><p>Supposedly, he turned himself in, despite Steve Rogers loud and many protests of his guilt. He is claiming brainwashing and Peter</p><p>
  <strike>The girl stepped from the sidewalk, directly into a car.</strike>
</p><p>
  <strike>“<em>Stay where you are, Peter.”</em></strike>
</p><p>grabs Matt and they bring Jess a bottle of her favorite whiskey. They don’t say why and she doesn’t ask, her desk littered with every news piece that mentions Barnes. They get Thai</p><p>
  <strike>Jess <em>hates </em>Chinese.</strike>
</p><p>and all very carefully refuse to talk about what’s happening in the news.</p>
<hr/><p>Ned watches the newsfeed. Rereads the list of names sitting in front of him. Stares at the encrypted message sent out to all the Rising Tide members.</p><p><em>SHIELD Agents Found Dead!</em> shouts the headline at the bottom of the screen.</p><p><em>Mark Davis, Hendel Lee, Cathy Powell, Anne Ortiz</em> reads the first four—of many—names on his list. The list marking actual SHIELD agents that weren’t secretly neo-Nazi terrorists. Ms. Ortiz, at least, got out and managed to get a job as a paralegal assistant for Mr. Murdock at HC&amp;B. The other three are staring at him out of his TV.</p><p><strong><em>OCN: </em></strong><em>Good work, everyone. They can’t hide in the shadows anymore.</em> OCN—Ocean, is what everyone calls them—isn’t really the <em>leader</em> of Rising Tide, mostly because Rising Tide doesn’t have a leadership structure. But they were one of the founders and so, when the call went out for help, everyone responded. Well, almost everyone.</p><p>Ned’s heard stories, picked up some information between hacks and encrypted texts. At this point, he likes to think he knows most of the big players’ names if not their identities. Which is why he knows that one of the best Rising Tide hackers didn’t help with the SHIELD reveal. It’s also why he feels justified in his deep feeling of dread when he sees the response on the message board and who sent it.</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>Skye:</em>
  </strong>
  <em> What have you done?</em>
</p><p>Ned wishes he could say.</p>
<hr/><p>Peter is in his room on a Sunday—their mandated day off—when he hears the knock and Matt head to get it. He has music playing so he doesn’t make out what’s said, but he knows the sound of Matt trying to be polite to clients he doesn’t want so he gets up and heads to the living room.</p><p>Tony Stark and Steve Rogers are being led in by Matt.</p><p>“Uh, dad? What’d you put in the frittata because I think I’m hallucinating.”</p><p>“No hallucination, kid.”</p><p>Captain America (!) elbows Iron Man (!!) in the ribs and smiles tightly at Peter. “Just here to talk to your father about some law stuff.”</p><p>Peter raises both his eyebrows, echoing Matt’s patented Bitch Please<sup>TM</sup> lawyer face. He can just make out Matt quietly sliding the Murdock Mandates off the fridge and into a drawer over the clamor he makes getting coffee. Peter, always a good sidekick, looks over both Steve Rogers (!!!) and Tony Stark (!!!!!) to provide a distraction.</p><p>
  <strike>He will not freak out, he will not freak out.</strike>
</p><p>
  <strike>OhgodsitsTonyStark.</strike>
</p><p>For a second Peter can’t see anything over the fact that <em>Iron Man and Captain America are in my apartment!!!!!!!!!!!</em></p><p>
  <strike>The bot is looking at him and Peter is so scared but Iron Man never backs down so neither will Peter-</strike>
</p><p>And then Peter tries to look at them like Beelzebub would look at a target and he can’t help but wonder why the hell they’re here looking like they just got off a week long binge.</p><p>There are shadows under their eyes and tension in their shoulders and for some reason neither will ever look at the other head on. Not to mention Tony Stark has a bruise on his jaw hidden by well-applied-but-not-good-enough makeup.</p><p>“If you’re here for law help,” Peter says slowly, tamping down on all his fanboy instincts and trying to replace it with MJ’s ridiculous <em>do-you-think-I’m-stupid?</em> eyebrow of doom. “Is there a reason you didn’t make an appointment with Anne?”</p><p>“Who’s Anne?” Captain Rogers asks in seemingly genuine confusion.</p><p>“Matt’s assistant,” Peter points out slowly, “At HC&amp;B. You know, the law office he works at on days that aren’t Sunday.”</p><p> Captain Rogers flinches a little and shifts his weight but Mr. Stark shrugs a little. “This couldn’t wait. Too important. Anyway, the adults need to talk so why don’t you go play.”</p><p>Peter’s spine snaps straight and he bites back the snarky remark on the tip of his tongue. He <em>hates </em>being talked down to, more so now with Beelzebub in his closet and powers under his skin.</p><p>Matt clanks the coffee cups onto the small dining table, drawing Rogers and Stark’s attention. “Peter, go get the usual stuff, will you? Seems like you haven’t been relieved of your paralegal duties just yet.” Peter doesn’t listen to Matt explain in short, clipped tones that Peter has been an assistant and unofficial paralegal since last April.</p><p>“This might not be, ah, age appropriate?” Rogers murmurs to Matt as Peter comes back. Matt pastes a cheerfully aggressive smile on.</p><p>“Well, normally I’d have my assistant Anne to help, but I wouldn’t want her to work on a Sunday.” Rogers twitches at the pointed reminder and Stark looks a little impressed at Matt’s polite vitriol.</p><p>Peter sets the notepad and recorder up on the table before taking a seat with the other three. When Matt nods his head, Peter warns Rogers and Stark that they’ll need to state their full names when prompted before starting the recording.</p><p>“This is Peter Benjamin Parker—hereby addressed as Mr. Parker—unofficial assistant to Matthew Michael Murdock—hereby addressed as Mr. Murdock—lawyer with Hogarth, Chao &amp; Benowitz. With us are clients-” Peter gestures for them both to state their full names and continues afterwards- “Hereby known as Captain Rogers and Mr. Stark. Captain Rogers and Mr. Stark are present for a consultation. The date is Sunday, December 15<sup>th</sup>, 2015.” Peter leans over the notepad, prepared for the details of the case. He doesn’t actually get that far.</p><p>“What can I help you with?” Matt asks.</p><p>“We want you to represent Bucky,” Captain Rogers says bluntly and Peter drops his pen.</p><p>“Sergeant Bucky Barnes, who’s facing charges of treason, multiple accounts of murder, and acting part of a recognized terrorist organization? Who’s only defense to the veritable mountain of evidence against him is brainwashing?” Matt queries calmly. He receives a confirmation. “Ah. I see. No. If that’s all?”</p><p>Captain Rogers and Mr. Stark sputter a little as Peter hits the <em>pause </em>on the recorder and turns on Matt.</p><p>“Dad!”</p><p>“We understand your hesitance,” Mr. Stark says calmly, leaning back with his hands open. “The Barnes thing is a circus, I get it. But name your price and we can make it happen.”</p><p>“Not everyone can be bought,” Matt snaps coldly. “No price is worth dealing with the Barnes case.”</p><p>“We know you helped out with Kilgrave,” Captain Rogers injects rapidly. “You took Jessica Jones as a client. This is the same concept.”</p><p>“It is <em>not</em>. First of all, if you’re referencing the Hope Shlottman case which actually dealt with the concept of brainwashing as a legal defense, Jeri Hogarth was her attorney. I can happily help you make an appointment if you prefer that. Secondly, Miss Jones was arrested for the alleged murder of Kilgrave, I simply pointed out to the DA that any case brought against Miss Jones would be loss to the fact she was acting in self-defense and had over a dozen witnesses proving it. <em>Bucky Barnes</em>, however, has no such defense and proving the brainwashing is near impossible considering, unlike Kilgrave, it was not a power that did it, but science and psychology. And, let’s not forget the fact that the Barnes case is far more widespread and well known and that he has only an entire <em>neo-Nazi terrorist organization</em> as an enemy. I will <em>not </em>bring that down on myself or my son.”</p><p>“We can help make sure you’re protected,” Mr. Stark offers. “You need a new home defense system? Done. You want 24 hour surveillance? I’ll get you the best in the business.”</p><p>“I want nothing to do with this,” Matt reiterates, before his lips twist in a pleasant smile. “And what do you think, Mr. Stark, about getting the murderer of your parents off on all charges?”</p><p>Mr. Stark’s chin goes up and Captain Rogers’s seat creaks with his weight. “Barnes was brainwashed. We’re working the rest out.”</p><p>“Oh? So simple to let go the rage, is it?”</p><p>“Dad,” Peter hisses again. Matt presses his lips tightly together, jaw clenched. “Dad, we helped Jess because it was the right thing to do.”</p><p>“I’d like to remind you that I was against helping her.”</p><p>“But you did it anyway. Because she needed it and we had <em>the responsibility to</em>.”</p><p>“My responsibility,” Matt answers with heavy certainty, “Is <em>you</em>. Priorities, remember?”</p><p>Peter huffs, annoyed that his own words came back to bite him. “Fine. But consider; what happens to me if letting people face injustice becomes the new standard? What happens if one day I’m on the other side of the table?”</p><p>“You know I won’t let that happen,” Matt retorts, but his fist is flexing. Peter sits back, folding his arms and waiting. Captain Rogers and Mr. Stark stay silent, sharing a side look as Matt snarls something under his breath. Peter starts the recording again. “I have stipulations,” he bites out. “I need all the details on everything Barnes has done. I need access to regular meetings with him. I need Foggy. I need someone to help my assistant do research for precedents. And,” Matt leans forward, lips pulled back from his teeth and knuckles going white around each other, “Peter has nothing to do with any of this. He gets involved, and I’m out. Clear?”</p><p>“Crystal,” Mr. Stark drawls. “We’ll get you everything you need.”</p><p>“Great.” Peter stops the recording as Matt stands. “Now get out. Next time, make an appointment.”</p>
<hr/><p>Barnes is set to appear before a federal jury in January, marking a truly intense intro to 2016.</p><p>
  <strike>Peter can only hope the rest of the New Year isn’t that extreme.</strike>
</p><p>Matt and Foggy end up co-leading a team with eight others, dropping the rest of their cases on other HC&amp;B attorneys to focus their full attention on what is turning into the biggest trial of the century. Russia wants to arrest Barnes themselves—something to do with the Revolution?—but considering they didn’t seem to notice or care that they had HYDRA agents operating out of Siberia, the US collectively decides they don’t care. All of this means that Matt is insanely busy and Daredevil gets shoved aside. Beelzebub, consequently, stays closer to Hell’s Kitchen to make sure no one gets any funny ideas.</p><p>
  <strike>He doesn’t listen to the rumors that Daredevil is dead. He isn’t and they’ll all see that, eventually. </strike>
</p><p>This also means that when Beelzebub stops some ATM robbers dressed like the Avengers, he’s alone.</p>
<hr/><p>Here’s the thing; Peter knows how weapon deals go down. Turk, a regular source of information, is a middleman. He doesn’t own the guns, he doesn’t buy the guns, but he makes sure they get from A to B and so gets a cut. There are lots of middlemen like that around. But Peter, who likes to think he has a solid information network, has <em>never </em>heard of weapons that do the kind of damage that Fakevengers dealt. Consequently, he goes to someone who always knows more than he does.</p><p>MJ.</p>
<hr/><p>Black Clematis is at St. Margaret’s when Beelzebub calls her. It’s the first time he’s caught her out doing her own thing and when he gets to Soho—Deadpool territory—she comes into the back alley that homes the entrance to the merc HQ of NYC and looks up to find him clinging, upside down, to a barred window on the opposite wall.</p><p>He’s always known that she must have a suit or costume of some sort to hide her identity. Belphegor remains the only one of them that never operates face to face and so doesn’t have need to hide his identity besides the truly terrifying firewalls and traps he has on his servers.</p><p>Black Clematis, as an info broker and a middleman—woman?—of her own sort, doesn’t wear a full costume or suit. Only a sharp silver-gray pant suit with white lace gloves, white combat boots, and one of those venetian masks; the kind that covers everything and are smooth and featureless. MJ had painted an incredibly detailed clematis that stretched across her nose and reached from forehead to chin in black with hints of deep wine purple.</p><p>She looks incredible.</p><p>“Sorry to interrupt,” he drawls when he gets over the fact that she manages to look twenty at 5’6” and barely sixteen.</p><p>
  <strike>He wears form fitted Kevlar that he knows ripples across his body as he moves in shadows, a cowl that brings attention to his lips and jaw.</strike>
</p><p>
  <strike>He supposes there’s a reason everyone assumes he’s in college.</strike>
</p><p>“Don’t worry,” she murmurs, stepping closer to him in the shadows. He grins at the German accent, thick over her words. Her mother had been German, but he’s never heard her use the accent like this. It’s kind of awesome. “They can wait.” How she manages to make it sound like she is trying to pronounce the <em>th</em> correctly and then deliberately failing at it, he’ll never know. Though he supposes others might say the same about him using his Queen’s accent more heavily when in costume.</p><p>“I met up with some guys earlier,” he starts, shifting forward to hold out a little glowing stone he’d managed to grab from one of the weapons. “Thought ATM’s were <em>in</em> this year. Packing a pretty punch.”</p><p>“Grunts or randoms?”</p><p>“Randos. No organization.”</p><p>She hums, inspecting the little blue stone. Beelzebub doesn’t think it’s radioactive, but his danger sense also isn’t the biggest fan. She chucks it at him and he catches it smoothly before slipping it back into his pocket. “I’ll see what I can find.”</p><p>“Sure. You hear anything about Belphegor recently?” Ned, while still appearing at school, had been pale and quiet since a few days after the SHIELD fall in D.C. While Beelzebub hasn’t really needed anything hacked recently, he also hasn’t heard about Belphegor doing anything else. Ned being quiet and refusing to talk raises all kinds of warning flags.</p><p>“Rumors about Rising Tide, sure. Belphegor specifically? No.  Seems he’s been staying quiet.”</p><p>“What you hear about Rising Tide?”</p><p>“That what remains of SHIELD is angry at them, mostly. Few other tidbits about someone named Ocean having powerful friends that wanted SHIELD out.”</p><p>“Thought SHIELD fell apart after they found they were a cover for their biggest enemy?”</p><p>“I heard there’s a faction still operating, maybe trying to become legit again. Nothing confirmable, though. Didn’t chase the rabbit too far. You want me to?”</p><p>Beelzebub considers it for a moment before shaking his head. “Nah, s’alright. Long as they don’t come for us and ours, why should I care, y’know?”</p><p>Black Clematis tips her head in a nod and steps back towards the door. Beelzebub can just make out someone screaming out, “<em>I will boil your teeth and fill your sinuses with urine, you abominable fuck wagon!</em>”</p><p>“Creative,” he admits.</p><p>“Never say mercenaries don’t have their own culture,” she drawls. “I’ll get you what I can soon.”</p><p>“Thanks, BC.”</p><p>“Don’t call me that.”</p><p>He grins, giving a sloppy salute. “Sure thing, BC.” He leaves before she can make him regret his life choices.</p>
<hr/><p>Three days later, Peter is rolling the weird power core between his hands, trying to figure out who could get something like this and where from. His danger sense pings and he chucks the core over the river, cursing when it explodes above the water.</p><p>That doesn’t give him a lot of faith for the weapons being sold.</p><p>The next day MJ tells him that a deal is going down on a ferry for the weapons that weekend. At midday. Lovely.</p><p>Beelzebub, while occasionally doing late afternoon/early evening patrols isn’t exactly the kind of low profile vigilante that can go on a boat in the middle of the afternoon. Especially not since protests are still going on even amidst White House assurance they have a plan in the works.</p><p>But these weapons—dangerous, explosive, and, he’s beginning to think, <em>alien</em>—cannot be allowed to be sold and make it on the streets. Beelzebub can’t stop the ferry deal. But he knows someone who can.</p>
<hr/><p>Matt, even as the holidays barrel closer and Peter’s school ends for winter break, is working more hours than ever before trying to figure out the Barnes case. He still takes the time to figure out holidays with Peter—the Parkers were Jewish, but Peter, as a pagan, celebrates Yule which falls on the twenty-first this year and Matt usually did midnight mass with his father and presents the morning after. They settle on doing a big dinner on Yule with Karen and Foggy and presents on Christmas day with candles lit in all the windows over the twelve days.</p><p>The thing that’s important to Peter, at that exact second, is that Matt has a direct line to Captain Rogers and therefore the Avengers as a whole. While there’s still controversy over who has control of the Avengers now that SHIELD is dead—for now, Peter thinks considering what MJ had told him—they haven’t shut down and Peter thinks that they’re more equipped to handle a public weapons deal like this.</p><p>It’s almost too easy to wait for Captain Rogers to come out of HC&amp;B and drag him into an alley. He’s fast, twisting out of Beelzebub’s grip and winding back for a punch, but Beelzebub leaps back, putting himself on the wall a little higher.</p><p>“Whoa, Cap! Calm down, I ain’t here to start a fight, just want to talk.”</p><p>“You are you?”</p><p>“Wow, you never heard of me?” Despite himself, Beelzebub is a little offended. Considering how often he and Daredevil get name dropped during the whole Normals vs Supers thing, he would’ve guessed Captain Rogers would at least know him by pictures. Not to mention all the graffiti picturing him in Hell’s Kitchen and Midtown. Captain Rogers narrows his eyes. “Okay, that’s cool. Like, little hurtful to my ego, y’know, but cool. I’m Beelzebub.” There’s still no recognition so Beelzebub sighs and gets on with it. “Look, I’m just trying to pass on a tip. Something’s going down that I can’t handle myself but is in your ball house.”</p><p>Captain Rogers relaxes a little but doesn’t stop looking like he’s ready to fight. “What kind of something?”</p><p>“Weapon deal going on at the Staten Island Ferry tomorrow afternoon. Someone’s selling weapons that tend to go big boom. Don’t know either buyer or dealer, but I thought the Avengers would be more equipped to deal with it.”</p><p>“How do you know this?”</p><p>Beelzebub can’t help rolling his eyes, though the captain can’t see it. “Who d’ya think deals with the weapons when they get sold? Not all crimes are world ending.” Then Beelzebub realizes he’s talking to <em>Captain America</em> like he wouldn’t know about street crime and starts stumbling over himself. “Oh, gods, no I didn’t mean- I’m sure that you know- that is, um, thank you, obviously, for not letting the world end—twice—uh, just. You know what. I’m going to go. Thanks for taking the tip.”</p><p>Beelzebub gets out of there, face burning as he mutters to himself about lecturing <em>Captain America</em> on crime levels.</p>
<hr/><p>Despite trusting the Avengers to handle it, Beelzebub hides on the roof of the ferry waiting room, watching the river. Matt, when he’d been told about Peter passing on the mission to the Avengers, had looked extremely conflicted. On one hand, Beelzebub knew his limits and made sure not to bite off too much. On the other hand, Matt <em>hates </em>the Avengers. Not the saving the world part of them, but at the same time, the saving the world part of them. They cared for the big bads, the apocalypses and aliens invasions and the neo-Nazi terrorist group infecting every level of the government. But they did <em>nothing </em>to help the rising crime rates that followed such terrible events. Tony Stark tended to throw money wherever they’d made the most damage and then all the Avengers fucked off to their fancy training HQ and didn’t do anything else. This to Matt, who had to hear and experience every crime that happened in Hell’s Kitchen, made them only slightly better than the people Daredevil and Beelzebub dealt with daily.</p><p>Beelzebub can almost understand, but he thinks Matt might be reacting a bit strongly. You don’t use a laser to kill a fly, after all. The Avengers probably trust the cops to handle street crimes. Not their fault the cops are useless. Well, except Vinny and Carlo—who’d finally gone out on a date, Peter is still trying to figure out if sending them a gift basket might be going too far—because Vinny and Carlo are the <em>best </em>cops. Though Brett isn’t terrible and Luke and Jess vouch for Misty Knight and Oscar Clemons, respectively. So that makes, like, five valid cops in New York City. At least now, when Beelzebub has hand delivered a warning to Captain America himself, the Avengers will pay a little more attention to what’s going on.</p><p>The ferry is close enough to make out figures. It should start docking any minute, though Beelzebub is a little surprised not to see any of the Avengers or anyone clearly arrested. There’s a few figures he can spot moving in such a coordinated fashion it’s not possible for them to be civilians, but none of them are recognizable.</p><p>There’s movement, sharp and hurried, something on the lower level Beelzebub can’t make out and suddenly there’s grinding in the air and something—someone?—rising into the air with huge metal wings, one of the glowing weapons in his hand. He shoots, once, twice, three times and Beelzebub can’t make out who he’s shooting at only that it <em>isn’t </em>the Avengers. One of them gets a lucky shot off and the weapon goes flying, purple light spilling in bright beams. Then the ferry is creaking and screaming, echoing the danger sense and Beelzebub has only a second to realize what’s about to happen before he’s reacting, slinging a web to the winged guy. The dude drops a little before trying to fly away, the momentum swinging Beelzebub just enough that he can make it to the ferry. His web gets snipped but he doesn’t have the time to consider the strength required to do something like that, doesn’t have the time to stop the weapon dealer—has to be him—fly away, too busy slinging webs like it’s a national sport.</p><p>He doesn’t know where the strongest points are, but he can make a guess based on basic structural theory. He targets all of them, letting the danger sense and instincts guide him, children crying in the background pushing him on. His wrists burn and itch—he’s never used this much web so quickly before. His muscles strain in the worse way, fire licking at his skin but he pulls tighter, spins a web around and around what he prays are support beams, twists them back to him until his can grasp hold of two strands and <em>pull</em>, using every ounce of super strength in his body to hold it together, to save the teenager he can hear reassuring their little sister that everything will be okay.</p><p>
  <strike>He can’t hold it, it <em>hurts</em>.</strike>
</p><p>
  <strike>How long until rescue comes?</strike>
</p><p>It’s nothing but a stop gap and he knows it. They can’t move like this, can’t make it to the shore. There’s water rushing on the lower levels, cars sinking and he has no idea if there’d been anyone down there. Whoever had tried to stop the weapons deal, at least.</p><p>He twists his arms, tightening his slipping hold with a groan through clenched teeth, tears prickling his eyes at the burn in his wrists, spinnerets aching in dull, throbbing agony.</p><p>The webs start to go slack again and he pulls them taunt only for them to loosen. It takes him a minute to realize there are other sounds now, boat engines and a dull, mechanical whirl that turns into a blast of repulsors Peter can sometimes hear in his dreams. The webs start dropping and Beelzebub releases them once he’s sure Iron Man is soldering the ship in one piece with Vision’s help. There’s another boat coming up beside them, Captain America, Black Widow, Falcon, and Scarlett Witch all clear. The last is using her powers to push the ship together in one piece while Iron Man finishes securing it. The rest start unloading civilians onto the other ship while Captain America jogs up to Beelzebub, face set in a sharp frown.</p><p>“Are you okay? What happened?”</p><p>“What <em>happened</em>?” Beelzebub can’t help burst out incredulous, the burn of his wrists bubbling into rage. “<em>What happened</em>?! I should be asking you that. Why weren’t you here?”</p><p>“We passed the tip on to the FBI. We thought-”</p><p>“You thought they could handle it,” Beelzebub cuts across, seething. “Well, look how that turned out. I went to <em>you</em> because I knew it was a super problem, not one for the normies.”</p><p>“We didn’t realize the weapons were so advanced. Tony’s tech says it’s Chitauri stuff.”</p><p>“Great. Wonderful. That’s super helpful to know, <em>after it malfunctioned and nearly killed everyone here</em>.” Beelzebub takes a deep breath, forcing his temper back behind clenched teeth and tight fists. He’d expected that <em>Captain America</em> would at least take something like this seriously, not just pass it on. Clearly, he’d been wrong. How many people are on the ferry? How many could’ve died? “Y’know, Double-D said you guys didn’t care about the little guy. Never thought he’d be right about it.”</p><p>Rogers flinches, pulling back a little and looking guilty. Falcon lands, tipping his head to Beelzebub. “Good job buying time, Webs. Saved a lot of lives today.” Normally, Beelzebub would preen and fanboy at a compliment by an Avenger like that. Today, he could only bring himself to nod his head jerkily, not trusting him to speak anything else without yelling. There were too many cameras for that.</p><p>“Let us take you home, at least,” Rogers offers, reaching for him.</p><p>Beelzebub steps back, snarling and dropping his weight low and centered on his hips the way Matt had shown him.</p><p>
  <strike>The way the Devil walked.</strike>
</p><p>“I’ll get back on my own, thanks.” Rogers looks hurt and Falcon raises a brow, but Beelzebub doesn’t pay attention. He’s aching and his spinnerets have never been so painful but he forces himself into a run, uses the boat the Avengers brought as a launching pad to get him close enough to swing himself back on the docks. He stumbles a little on the landing, vision blurring with the pain before launching himself back in the sky. He can’t swing all the way back to Hell’s Kitchen, not when two swings in little more than splatter comes from his wrist and he’s left crash landing on a roof, hard. He snarls, pushes himself back up and forces himself to parkour towards Soho. By the time he gets near, he’s breathing hard and he has no doubt his mutation is the only thing keeping him on his feet as he dials Deadpool’s number.</p><p>“Deadpool’s Delicate Delights, you chop ‘em, we bake ‘em. How can I take your order?”</p><p>“I need a place to crash for a few hours, I’ve just hit Soho. You mind?” Beelzebub is panting, arms clutched close to him, and some of his pain must show in his voice because Wade rattles off an address and gives directions to getting in through the fire escape.</p><p>Peter stumbles through the window, a few minutes later and finds a woman—must be the fiancé, Ness? Maybe—standing in the kitchen, frowning at him. Wade catches him by the wrists and Peter can’t stop the groan of pain. Wade curses, pushing him into a chair and starting to pull him out of the top part of the suit. He actually has very few injuries, mostly strained muscles from holding a ferry that weighed at least 2000 tons together. His spinnerets, though, are raw and bleeding a sluggish, blue ooze that tints his skin green as it drips down.</p><p>“Baby Beel, Jesus Christ,” Wade bites out and Ness rushes forward with a wet cloth, bandages, and an ice pack. “Fuck happened,” he orders as he cleans Peter’s wrist gently, wraps it, and leaves Ness to press the ice pack as Wade does the other one.</p><p>“Dealer was trying to sell Chitauri grade weapons, heard about it going down, but it was the middle of the day and supposed to go down on the ferry.”</p><p>“Which ain’t your scene, so who’d you call in?”</p><p>“Passed the message to Captain America.”</p><p>“Cap? Damn, baby boy, you really thought the Avengers would get off their asses for a <em>weapons deal</em>?”</p><p>“Yes I realize how stupid I was now,” he snaps, but he’s aching so much he can’t hold the anger. Ness twitches her head to the side but doesn’t say anything, just presses another ice pack towards Wade who applies it to his second wrist. Peter sighs at the brief relief. “Rogers called in the FBI and one of the weapons malfunctioned. Split the ferry in half and I had to hold it together until the Avengers decided it was worth their time.”</p><p>“Well, fuck. You know what’s up with this?” Wade lifts his wrist a little. “I’ve seen you bleed before and it usually ain’t blue.”</p><p>“I know spiders bleed blue, but I’ve never bled from my spinnerets before. Never used them so much they go raw and run out of webs, either.”</p><p>“First time for everything,” Ness points out.</p><p>“True. Uh, speaking of, nice to meet you. I’m Peter, Wade’s mentioned you before.”</p><p>“Vanessa, but just call me Ness.” Wade hums and looks between them before leaning in deviously with his fiancé, whispering loudly.</p><p>“You know, if you want to adopt him, I could take Red.”</p><p>Ness’s lips twitch but she’s interrupted by the loud ringing of Beelzebub’s phone. He lifts his hip so Wade can get to it, answering it quickly.</p><p>“Don’t worry, Red, I got Mini.” Peter can make out Matt snarling into the receiver, demanding an address and to know “the fuck happened” much the same Wade had. Wade rattles off the address and tells Matt to come through the front door like a human.</p><p>Twenty minutes later, Matt proves he gives zero shits for what Wade wants and instead crashes in through the window dressed in jeans and a tee and dropping next to Peter with a heavy thud. He’s gentle when he runs his fingers over Peter though, hands shaking and jaw twitching as he demands details.</p><p>Peter repeats his tale and is mildly worried when Matt nods slowly and calmly stands up.</p><p>“Right. I’m going to kill him.”</p><p>Peter isn’t entirely sure if Matt means the weapon dealer or Captain America and freaks out just a little about it. “Dad, you can’t kill him.”</p><p>“Says who?”</p><p>“Says me. You know, the injured party? Also, killing is still wrong.” This, Peter felt, should not need to be said.</p><p>Matt seemed to disagree. “If he’d listened to you-” Ah, so they were talking about Captain America. It did not make Peter feel better.</p><p>“But he didn’t, and now I know not to try again.” Matt must have read something in his body, because he droops and reaches to run a gentle hand through Peter’s hair.</p><p>It’s just—it <em>hurts</em>, to know the Avengers had not cared enough to take him seriously, to take something as <em>low level </em>as a weapon deal seriously. Iron Man had saved him as a child and everyone grew up learning about Captain America and the Howling Commandoes.</p><p>
  <em>
    <strike>Never meet your heroes</strike>
  </em>
  <strike>.</strike>
</p>
<hr/><p>In the end Matt doesn’t kill Captain America, nor does he quit the Barnes case in petty revenge. Considering Matt Murdock has no reason to be mad about something in the vigilante world, it’s not like it would’ve worked anyway. He does, however, let slip the details to Karen who takes vicious delight in splattering the headlines with the news that a demon vigilante of Hell’s Kitchen had tried to pass a weapons deal up to the Avengers only for them to pass it on to the FBI who failed miserably and need Beelzebub to step in anyway. It ends up twisted for both Normal and Super arguments and staring at them, stuck on bedrest with sore muscles and raw spinnerets, Peter finally takes the time to consider everything happening.</p><p>He does this—he’d become Beelzebub—to help people. Help people the system <em>couldn’t</em>. The people the cops couldn’t reach in time, the people that didn’t have the money or name or connections to be worth helping. The people fighting in the streets just for the right to live. The system, as it stood, is <em>flawed</em>, and thus must be worked around to help people. Peter has the power, the <em>responsibility</em>, to do this and so he does.</p><p>But sitting here, recovering from the deep seated ache of over stretching himself, he can almost understand why people want Supers trained and controlled. Well, no. Not controlled. Peter, Matt, Wade, Frank, Jess, Luke. None of them can stand control. None of them trust it. But Peter thinks, just maybe, he would accept support. Help. A backup team to assist when he gets stuck in the middle of the river, holding a ferry together by web and super strength and stubborn Murdock will. Someone to call him in when they had information instead of him having to go hunt it out.</p><p>The only question is; what system could replace the one they currently had while integrating Supers without alienating them?</p><p>
  <strike>And what flaws would the new system have?</strike>
</p><p>Peter doesn’t know.</p><p>
  <strike>That scares him.</strike>
</p>
<hr/><p>Yule is calm and happy and Peter eats a delicious meal with Matt, Foggy, and Karen, the latter two disgustingly cute and blushing together in the worst way. He prays for stability as the earth transitions, and hopes, beyond anything, that he’ll have the strength to keep going.</p><p>On Christmas Eve, while Matt goes to midnight Mass, Beelzebub goes out and delivers presents to all the supers they know, as well as the cops they all trust. He feels a little like Santa and if he <em>“Ho ho ho”s</em> as he swings through the air, no one will tell.</p><p>Well, except the person who gets a video of it and slaps it all over Twitter and YouTube, but. Worth it.</p>
<hr/><p>January 4<sup>th</sup>, 2016, is the anniversary of Peter receiving his powers. This time, two years ago, he’d been at OsCorp, getting bitten by radioactive spiders. Now, he has a father, a secret identity, a super-network. Oh, and, you know, the little part about him being buried under a building. That last one isn’t as nice.</p><p>So, apparently, going to confront your enemy at their base of operations after hearing they plan on stealing SI tech—without a plan of your own—is a poor life choice. Who knew?!</p><p>Peter reaches for the breathing exercises Matt always preaches, but they slip through his mind, pushed away by <em>pain</em> and <em>heavy</em>, <em>dust</em> and <em>concrete </em>all he can make out, pushed as he is down down down under the weight of who knows how much.</p><p>The ferry had been two thousand tons, not including cars or passengers. It’d been the most Peter had ever had to lift or hold and he’d felt like it ripped him apart. This, he knows logically, can’t be as difficult because the average house weighs much less than a something made of steel and metal meant to carry cars and people. An abandoned warehouse that’s not up to code can’t be that much different.</p><p>Logic, he’s found, disappeared somewhere around when he became trapped. One arm is pinned beneath him, the other free in front of his face, but it does little good when he adds in the concrete slab wedged under his shoulder blade. He can’t really feel his legs, but knows that they must be flat behind him and not in any position to get leverage.</p><p>
  <strike>He’s pinned, heavy body above him-</strike>
</p><p>He can’t focus on that, not if he wants to get out.</p><p>
  <strike>Hot breath on his skin-</strike>
</p><p><em>No</em>.</p><p>His breath comes in pants, his danger sense running his spine into numb oblivion, vision crossing. He shifts, pushing with his pinned arm despite the poor angle on his wrist. Something moves, dust raining down but nothing else happens and he slackens, concrete digging into his shoulder blade.</p><p>
  <strike>No matter how much he struggles-</strike>
</p><p>He can’t reach his whistle, and Matt is in court, starting the Barnes case. He hadn’t had time to grab his comm, and even if he had, Ned’s been so out of it and distant since the Rising Tide hack that he doesn’t know if he’d respond. Around him there’s nothing but support beams and metal and concrete. A flicker of white draws his attention up, but he can’t move his head enough to see it until it lands a few feet in front of him.</p><p>It’s a picture. He focuses on it, pushes memories and panic away. A dark skinned woman, a young girl—her daughter—and a middle aged white man with thinning hair, all smiling and posed for a family photo in front of a clear blue background. The man, Peter recognizes, as Vulture.</p><p>The girl, he knows is Liz Toomes, a classmate and AcaDec teammate.</p><p>Which means he’s her father. The Vulture—as many dangerous weapons as he’s been putting on the streets, as much bad shit he’s done—has a <em>family</em>. One he cares about enough to leave a photo in his secret lair. He has to be stopped—anything from SI will be ten times more powerful than some leftover Chitauri tech and Vulture has proven himself willing to do anything for his goals. Fisk, from what Peter’s heard, also has a fiancé, but that didn’t stop Matt from doing what needed to be done. So Vulture—Mr. Toomes—being a father and husband can’t stop Peter.</p><p>
  <strike>Why do his enemies have to be human?</strike>
</p><p>He just needs to get out. To get up. Beelzebub—demon, Prince of Hell, mutate, <em>vigilante</em>—could beat muggers and rapists, could stop mafia wars, could ally and befriend other vigilantes and anti-heroes. He could get up. What was one measly building compared to the lives that would be lost if those weapons made it onto the streets?</p><p>
  <strike>What is Peter’s pain when he can still hear the ringing of gunshots in his dreams?</strike>
</p><p>Beelzebub is strong enough to stop anything.</p><p>
  <strike>Even if Peter isn’t.</strike>
</p><p>Beelzebub takes a few quick breaths, forcing adrenaline and energy into his bloodstream, and <em>pushes</em>, wrist bent poorly to give leverage, but doing it all the same. The concrete shifts and groans, the slab wedged under his free shoulder blade stabbing painfully. Beelzebub pushes everything aside, focuses on the slowly gaining mobility of his legs. His wrist screams, his danger sense warning him of injury.</p><p>He doesn’t listen, forces everything he can from one, inadequately placed hand until he can’t make out the <em>crack </em>of his scaphoid or scapula over the sudden freedom that has him scrambling out, grabbing the photo, and shooting a web from his uninjured wrist, despite the pain from his shoulder.</p><p>The building collapses back down behind him, but he can’t pay it any attention, not when all his focus is used to keep going despite his wounds. His wrist aches fiercely, but his powers mostly numb it by the time he catches sight of the SI plane. All he really has to worry about in this fight is his shoulder slowing him down.</p>
<hr/><p>What followed would play in Peter’s nightmares. He could barely believe he managed to turn the plane enough for it to clear civilians and had no doubt that the potential outcome—the deaths, the destruction, an echo and distorted image of 2012—would live in his subconscious. The ringing in his ears, the battle afterward, pulling Mr. Toomes out of the fire, was almost nothing compared to being up high, his usual aerial advantage turned into nothing but scrambling hands and low burning terror.</p><p>Beelzebub drops Toomes, webbing him down, though he doubts Toomes could run. Beelzebub can barely move, shoulder throbbing in time with his labored breaths, suit scratched and singed. He’d have to take it to Melvin to get it fixed.</p><p>“Why?” he manages to get past the smoke inhalation. “Why do all this? I know-I know you have a family, man. Just, why put them through it?”</p><p>“You’re a child,” Toomes rasps, going limp against his restraints. “You don’t understand.”</p><p>“Then help me. Why is putting weapons on the streets a good thing? What happens when someone with one of your guns goes after your daughter?”</p><p>“They won’t,” he snaps before coughing seizes him. “I wouldn’t let something happen to my family. I did it for them. I needed to provide, and this is how I could do it.”</p><p>Magma bubbles in his gut, dust and smoke choking him and burying what he wants to scream, the alternatives Toomes could’ve taken.</p><p>
  <strike>Wouldn’t Matt do anything for Peter?</strike>
</p><p>Beelzebub webs Toomes up, the photo of his family curled in his hand.</p><p>Then he leaves.</p>
<hr/><p>The burning wreckage is visible from the roof he settles on. As deep into Brooklyn as he is, he needs to breathe a little before he can manage his way back to Hell’s Kitchen. Matt, he realizes as he watches the flames settle and emergency vehicles head that way, is going to be <em>pissed</em>. Somehow, he feels like a new Mandate will arise from this.</p><p>Maybe Matt will wait to yell after his shoulder is healed? It’s worth hoping.</p><p>“I thought demons stayed in Hell? Or have you come for some tasty souls tonight?”</p><p>Beelzebub jumps at the voice, curling away and on his feet in an instant, shocked at his sense’s silence. It takes him a moment of blank staring to realize who’s in front of him.</p><p>“You’re Hawkeye.”</p><p>Hawkeye—actually, retired-Avenger Hawkeye, with his bow and everything—teeters his free hand. “Used to be Hawkeye, actually. Retired, nowadays, so you can call me Clint. You’re Beelzebub right?”</p><p>Beelzebub nods and Hawkeye—Clint?—Mr. Barton steps forward, sitting on the ledge, bow set to the side. There’s a hearing aid in his ear.</p><p>“I’m serious about the soul thing, y’know. Wouldn’t be the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen.”</p><p>“I just need a few secs to rest up, before I head back.” Mr. Barton raises his brows, so Beelzebub gestures to the dim red spot on the beach. “My doing, ‘m afraid. Sorry.”</p><p>Mr. Barton whistles lowly. “Nice blaze. It took me awhile to figure out the correct fire-to-boom ratio but you seem to have it down. Saw the plane fall out of the sky, that’s always fun.”</p><p>Beelzebub blinks, wondering if he’s being serious.</p><p>“It-it was a new experience?” he says uncertainly.</p><p>“Yeah, I’m sure. At least you didn’t end up hurting civilians.” Mr. Barton’s eyes cut to him, expectant, and Beelzebub is quick to shake his head, until he remembers Liz and her mother. Mr. Barton stays quiet.</p><p>“No casualties,” Beelzebub assures. “Just… He has a family. Wife and daughter. I don’t-” I don’t understand, he wants to say but bites back. Mr. Barton makes a noise.</p><p>“It’s always worse, when you realize they’re humans.”</p><p>“You didn’t fight humans,” Beelzebub points out.</p><p>Mr. Barton barks a laugh. “You pay any attention to the SHIELD leaks? I was a spy before I was an Avenger. ‘Sides, Avengers might deal with weird shit, but some of them—<em>most </em>of the problems—are human in nature.” He considers for a little bit, watching Brooklyn move below them. “I don’t like to say it, but I got to wonder if the aliens had emotions, goals, families. Is conquest part of their culture, are they brainwashed into believing their superiority? Even Ultron, at the end of it, thought he was saving the planet by destroying humans and what’s more noble than protecting what you care about?”</p><p>
  <em>
    <strike>“I did it for them</strike>
  </em>
  <strike>.<em>”</em></strike>
</p><p>Beelzebub stays quiet, aching and tired and uncertain how he’s supposed to respond. Mr. Barton doesn’t seem to expect anything, but he leans over and catches Peter’s eyes through the cowl.</p><p>“Remember, Beelzebub. No matter what you face, who you’re looking at, or what powers fight against you; everything you fight will be alive and <em>feeling</em>, in one way or another.”</p><p>
  <strike>He hears the gunshots-</strike>
</p><p>
  <strike>Kilgrave orders her to step out-</strike>
</p><p>
  <strike>Skip <em>smiles</em>-</strike>
</p><p>
  <strike>The ferry splits-</strike>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <strike>“I did it for them.”</strike>
  </em>
</p><p>“Ho-w,” Peter swallows, pushes the words out. “How do you fight them, when we should be <em>helping</em> everyone?”</p><p>
  <strike>How can humans do such terrible things?</strike>
</p><p>Mr. Barton looks sad, eyes distant. “We help people by fighting against those that don’t. Even if an opponent is human, that doesn’t stop them from being wrong, even when they think they’re right.” Mr. Barton claps him on the back—the uninjured side, thankfully—standing smoothly and turning with his bow gripped tight. Peter’s about to open his mouth, ask a question, offer thanks, comment on his wisdom—when Mr. Barton trips over air, lands hard, mutters a curse before hopping up and continuing on his way.</p><p>“Just, er,” Mr. Barton waves at the ground as he slowly walks backwards. “Ignore that last bit, just remember what I said. I’m very wise.”</p><p>Somehow, Peter wonders about that.</p>
<hr/><p>Unsurprisingly, Matt is angry and concerned. More unsurprisingly, Matt adds an addition to the Murdock Mandates;</p><p>
  <em>Thou shall not fight on planes.</em>
</p><p>Karen, who ends up watching over Peter while Matt deals with the Barnes case, decides this is not enough and includes;</p><p>
  <em>Thou shall not crash planes.</em>
</p><p>He feels like both of these are highly unnecessary and pointed so he distracts himself. All headlines are shouting either about the Barnes trial or the Vulture v Demon showdown on Coney Island. Someone had gotten a distant video of Beelzebub walking out of the fire carrying the Vulture and it does, he admits, look very evil and demon-y considering the fire flickering and highlighting his horns. He still doesn’t want to see it. Or hear about the new protests lighting up in response to <em>more</em> damage done by super vs super fights. Or look at all the photos of graffiti about Beelzebub that MJ keeps sending him.</p><p>Peter settles instead for digging into smaller, deeper buried news stories. There’s been a string of disappearances spread throughout NYC and a wave of new heroin, and some of the victims of both are mildly well known people so it actually catches media attention. There’s little he can do now, but he makes a note to come back to it.</p><p>Matt, when he finally finishes up the Bucky Barnes case and comes home, swears to rip Tony Stark limb from limb for not having better security on his plane. Peter lets the malicious and bloody threats lull him to sleep.</p>
<hr/><p><strong>BigDD (@marrymedaredevil):</strong> @maskwatchnyc, you hear about Bucky Barnes being cleared?</p><p><strong>Hero Finder (@maskwatchnyc): </strong>@marrymedaredevil who hasn’t it? @trishwalker did an article on it as has every other news outlet out there.</p><p><strong>Klarksen (@missindependent): </strong>@marrymedaredevil @maskwatchnyc can you believe it? He’s a mass murderer and they’re letting him off</p><p><strong>BigDD(@marrymedaredevil):</strong> @missindependent dude was brainwashed. Can’t hold that against him.</p><p><strong>Klarksen (@missindependent): </strong>@marrymedaredevil you believe that crock? No way is it real. Stark probably paid off the jury to get Barnes back on the Avengers.</p><p><strong>The Walker Report (@trishwalker): </strong>@missindependent not only was the brainwashing proven by the same files that condemned Barnes, there were stipulations to the verdict. He can’t rejoin the Avengers and is under supervision. Rumors suggest that Captain Rogers might resign from the Avengers in protest.</p><p><strong>Hero Finder (@maskwatchnyc): </strong>@trishwalker hadn’t heard the Rogers thing but wouldn’t be surprised. Rogers and Barnes were separated by war and decades, I think they deserve a retirement.</p>
<hr/><p>“He’s back in New York.”</p><p>“Is he? And here I thought Daniel might need a little more incentive.”</p><p>“Nonsense. With K’un Lun now destroyed as you ordered, he has little choice but to come back here.”</p><p>“<em>Clearly</em>. Is everything else in place?”</p><p>“Yes. We need only the Immortal Iron Fist and the Beast might bless us with his presence.”</p><p>“<em>Bless us</em>. Yes, I can suppose I see where you get that impression. No matter, we’ll see soon enough what dear old Father has to say for himself. Start the plan.”</p><p>“Yes, Black Sky.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Next up; Defenders and Deadpool 2--kinda. The latter is really going to be background to show shit is still going on, but Defenders, as you may be able to tell already, IS NOT going to be canon-compliant. I'm so disappointed with what the Hand turned into considering how they introduced it in Daredevil. I'm waffling on what's going to happen with the Beast, but I hope it comes out good either way. Do expect that what happens next fic to have IMPACTS tho. Like, shit's about to get so real.<br/>I'm cackling.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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